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the widely divergent customs of her
multi-ethnic country, the foundations
of which centre around religion,
family and inclusivity.
While documenting Mexico, Graciela
has captured some of the most iconic
images of the 20th century, among which
is Mujer Ángel, or Angel Woman – taken
in 1979. Mujer Ángel captures a young Seri
woman in Punta Chueca, snapped in a
fleeting moment as Graciela and a group
of Seri descended cliffs in the Sonora
desert. Taken from behind, the woman,
her dark hair cascading down a long
billowing dress, and inexplicably holding a
boom box in her right hand, seems poised
to take flight across the desert plains. And
it is precisely this incongruence that makes
Mujer Ángel one of the most celebrated
photographs in Graciela’s oeuvre. It wasn’t
until after Graciela developed her film that
she became aware of Mujer Ángel in her
contact sheet – like ‘a gift from the desert,’
she says of the picture.Perhaps her best-known series is
Juchitán – an intimate body of work that
developed over a decade, which focuses on
the indigenous people of Juchitán in
Oaxaca. In 1979 Mexican artist Francisco
Toledo, himself from Juchitán, contacted
Graciela and asked her to document his
hometown. The photographs were to go
on display at Casa de la Cultura de
Juchitán, an institute of arts and culture,
founded by Toledo in 1972. ‘Initially, I
went just so that I could photograph the
village of Juchitán, but I fell in love with
the place and the people.’ Indeed it became
like a second home and she returned
regularly, documenting the traditions and
rituals of Zapotec culture and, not least,
the Zapotec women, whose images were
later published as a book, Juchitán de las
Mujeres – the Juchitán of the women.
‘Juchitán de las Mujeres was just a
coincidence,’ explains Graciela. ‘It was
Elena Poniatowska’s idea – she co-wrote
the text. I had spent a lot of time with the
women – I went to the market with them,
sold tomatoes, I lived with them, and when
I saw my files, obviously I had many
pictures of the women. But it was never
my intention to go to Juchitán and take
photos of just women. Absolutely not.
When I take pictures, I never have any
intention. I always tell myself let’s see what
happens. But in any case, Zapotec womenAbove Nuestra Señora de las Iguanas, 1979. | Below Manos poderosas, Juchitán, 1986.
Opposite Magnolia con Espejo, 1986.‘She is a master
at capturing the essence
of her subjects.’
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